


How to build a Soul

by vegalocity



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Ducktales spoilers, F/F, Honorary Duck Family Member Webby Vanderquack, I mean it's not REALLY a shippy thing, and a lot of romantic symbolism, more pre-ship, someone Save Lena
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 08:50:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15726042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vegalocity/pseuds/vegalocity
Summary: The realm of Shadows claws at her, pulling her in trying to make her lose herself to it. But she bats and beats against the tide, clinging for dear life to a woven bracelet.





	How to build a Soul

**Author's Note:**

> So how bout that finale huh? 
> 
> I've got Lena feels, and Webby feels, and Lena and Webby feels, so here's a thing

She hadn't experienced the Abyss since she'd developed a mind of her own, but she knew returning would be torture; the darkness, the whispering voices, clinging to the feet of Aunt Magica forever, and listening to her inane revenge schemes and feeling the buzz of magic as her Aunt (Magica had made her, and she knew logistically that would make her Lena's Mother, but she would never— _could never_ —call her Mother) cackled to herself and plotted and monologued.

And she was right. 

The Abyss was awful, pushing on her very essence, clawing at her, whispering to her, threatening to pull her in forever. Feeling like she was loosing her mind bit by bit as she clung to the physical world. And clung she did. She gripped onto what she had like a lifeline. A promise from the other side of a place in the family, a trio so strange but so fun, a grownup who she couldn't understand but still tried to be nice to her, the strict older woman who had called her a bad influence once but accepted her when the chips were down, and the one person who made it possible for her to put any hope in it at all.

In the Abyss you could still see and hear everything, but you could only cling to the shadows of the world. Colors were so dim they were nearly nonexistent, but Lena could always see the Pink of Webby's bow. Her blue sweater vest and purple skirt practically glowed in the darkness, and Lena clung to it with all she had. Her lifeline in the darkness. 

Lena wondered how Magica had ever stayed together long enough to properly plan for as long as she had, it took all her concentration to stay with Webby, to not let the single spot of color fade from her sight. She'd only ever had the tiniest bit of magic, something she thought she'd borrowed from Magica, but she must have put something of her own into that friendship bracelet, the blue magic that had come out to shield her, the glow that Lena could see at the edge of her senses after she'd been summoned to the physical realm one last time, it was nothing like the electric purple of Magica's magic. It hummed in her ears at a steady rhythm instead of buzzing with an energy that made her feathers stand on end.

Her stomach stung with the phantom pain of Magica's final attack, scattering her essence should have destroyed her then and there, she should have lost whatever she had left, her memories blending in with Magica's until she lost everything to her. 

But she didn't. There was still a speck of pink in the corner of her eye, the pastel bracelet without its twin, and Lena clung to it with everything she had.

She was weaker. She couldn't do more than change Webby's shadow into her own right now, there was still a hole where her stomach once was, and it would take a lot of resting to heal, but she could feel the hum of her own magic on the very edge of her senses and wondered if she didn't get what she'd been looking for after all.

She was bound back to the Abyss, and every second the darkness would claw at her and try to drag her back, but she wasn't bound to Magica. Her magic was that of her own, and more importantly, she had someone she actually cared about keeping her anchored. Her mind stayed her own, her heart stayed her own. In all this time, had she grown her own Soul?

She couldn't chance trying to sleep, she didn't know if sentient shadows needed to sleep, but she didn't want to chance the darkness dragging her away while she let herself be exposed. All the same she made sure to be a polite shadow monster. Turning her gaze to the once colorful maps and conspiracy boards when appropriate and waiting for the telltale grunt as she untangled her bow from her hair, following Webby, now clad in her pajamas, as she wandered back into the family area. 

After everything that had happened that evening the family had decided to simply spend the rest of the day inside to wind down. A nest of pillows and blankets big enough for everyone rested comfortably in the tv room. 

Shadows were long when lights were dim and movies were playing, so Lena curled up on the side of Webby that wasn't pressed against Donald, wedging herself between Webby and her granny and tried to convince herself that she wasn't where she was.

She kept her gaze on the screen, telling herself over and over that it was an artistic movie, that's why it was in black and white; it was avant garde or whatever, thankfully she hadn't actually seen the movie before so that wasn't as hard as she worried. 

But maybe she'd been trying too hard, because unconsciously trying to lean against Webby's shoulder had pressed her shoulder into the shadows on Webby's nightshirt and she cursed harshly under her breath as she tried to pull herself back under Beakly's shadow.

When one movie ended Launchpad put another in, this one a fantasy looking thing, a maiden named Buttercup and a dread pirate who murdered her love. It was getting late, and she could see the exhaustion start to pull at the other kids. Heads drooping and eyes lowering.

Eventually another day of saving the world took its toll and the boys began to drop like flies. Lena watched as Scrooge struggled to get the feeling back in his legs after Louie and Dewey had fallen asleep on either of them. Huey lasted the longest, but even he conceded defeat before the end of the second act and flopped against Donald's arm. 

Webby hadn't conceded to her exhaustion just yet, the movie was getting to a sad portion and Lena watched her start to toy with the bracelet. She wanted to reach out and touch her, to tell her that she was still here, that she would find a way to make contact when she was strong enough, but Webby didn't know that. Webby thought she was gone, that Magica had destroyed her entirely, no one had thought that she could survive it, not even the triplets, and they were crazy on the hope beyond probability stuff.

She placed her shadow hand on the folds of Webby's nightshirt, feeling the tug of the abyss pulling at her fingers, but she pressed against it, pressing as tightly against Webby's shoulder as she could to keep herself grounded.

Webby sniffled, raising a hand up to scrub at her eyes and Lena's heart broke. 

_I'm still here_ she said as forcefully as she could, her voice was silent, but she willed Webby to hear her. _You saved me, you're keeping me sane, you didn't lose me._ Webby sighed and tucked her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her arms and turning her eyes back to the screen. The Dread Pirate Roberts revealed himself to be Buttercups love Wesley, and they began to fall down the cliffside together. 

Lena moved her hand up and down the shadows of her nightshirt, she'd seen the boys do that when they tried to comfort each other, so she hoped, somehow, Webby might feel it. She heard Launchpad begin to snore and knew without turning to the back of the nest that he was passed out as well.

Eventually, as the characters wandered through the fire pits and Wesley told his story, the pull for sleep started winning out with Webby, she kept her hand moving as Webby's head began to bob, her eyes drifting shut, and a small pair of tears dotted the corners of her eyes as she drifted off. 

It was a bit of a struggle then, but Lena was able to pull her hand back. 

There was a bit of silence as the movie played, but eventually Webby slumped a little further into herself and the grownups deemed her well and truly asleep. Donald paused the movie and he and scrooge started to slowly untangle themselves from the boys. 

She turned to watch Mrs. Beakly re-enter the room, wiping her hands on a rag, and the three of them retreated into the hallway, no doubt to have some sort of grown up talk about what had just happened just a few short hours ago.

Lena could have followed them, but Webby took then to slump a little too far into herself and started slowly pitching forward, her legs relaxing and no longer supporting her head. Lena wasn't sure what she could do, but she felt the hum of blue magic grow to her desire and Webby's bracelet began to glow. 

Slowly, so she didn't get sucked in by anything else, She touched the tip of her finger to the light shadow of the bracelet. For just a split second she almost could feel Webby's wrist as she touched the shadow, but the moment was lost when she reached for a pillow. A gentle blue glow surrounded the fluffy object and slowly it began to lift and drifted over to rest underneath Webby's chin. It took a moment of just holding it there, but finally Webby unbalanced enough for her head to hit it. Slowly, Lena set the pillow down and Webby sprawled out, snoring lightly.

Her stomach burned from the exertion, and when she looked down at her form she noticed the hole get just a hair larger, but she couldn't quite regret learning just how she could re-connect with the world.

She needed more time to rest, but something like hope burned in the back of her non-corporeal throat. Webby hummed and curled into the pillow, and Lena smiled.


End file.
